Marcato Says Buffalo Wild Wings Refranchise Plan 'Not Risky'

Mick McGuire, founder of Marcato Capital Management, which is Buffalo Wild Wings' largest shareholder with approximately a 9.9 percent stake, says his plans to refranchise more of the chain's restaurants is "not risky." But Institutional Shareholder Services, a proxy advisory firm, disagreed, calling the plan to take franchised units from 50 percent up to a whopping 90 percent "unwise." ISS backed three out of four of Marcato's proposed directors. The proxy vote is scheduled for Friday, June 2.

"Our perspective is that there is a lot of analysis to support that this is a very value-creating plan, that refranchising will unlock a lot of capital, improve margins, improve returns on capital," he [McGuire] said on CNBC's "Halftime Report" Thursday [May 25].

…"We don't perceive the move to a 90 percent franchisee model to be as critical as other strategic initiatives to the company's long-term growth and profitability," ISS said, in its recommendation. — Sarah Whitten, CNBC